Material inserting machinery



arch 28, 1950 H. E. GANTZER MATERIAL INSERTING MACHINERY 6 Sheets-$heet 1 Filed July 3, 1948 IN V EN TOR. u/QWJE (727223 7 BY gewf.

March 28, 1950 H. E. GANTZER MATERIAL INSERTING MACHINERY 6 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed July 5, 194a arch 28, 1950 H. E. GANTZER 2,501,770

MATERIAL INSERTING MACHINERY Filed July 3, 1948 6 Sheets-Sheet 3 2 INVENTOR. g Y fisum'cl 6021??? B Y E q March 28, 1950 H. E. GANTZER 2,501,770

MATERIAL INSERTING MACHINERY Filed July 3, 1948 6 Sheets-Sheet 4 IN V EN TOR. fwarzl't? 7???? BY March 28, 1950 H. E. GANTZER MATERIAL INSERTING MACHINERY Filed July 3, 1948 6 Sheets-She et 5 JNVENTOR. fizz/0761,57. 621

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6 Sheets-Sheet 6 JZZwarcZ I BY H. E. GANTZER MATERIAL INSERTING MACHINERY QR k March 28, 1950 Filed July 5, 194a Patented Mar. 28, 1950 UNITED STATES MATERIAL INSERTING MACHINERY Howard E. Gantzer, Kenmore, N. 1 assignor to Consolidated Packaging Machinery Corporation, Bulfalo, N. iii, a corporaticn'of New York Application July 3, 1948, Serial No. 37,018

This invention relates to new and useful improvements in machines for inserting individual 15 Claims. (Cl. 19-144) lengths of fibrous material such as cotton into the necks of partially filled bottles and particularly seeks to provide a novel machine of this general type which is adapted to perform the materialinserting operations as the bottles are moved continuously and in which greatly simplified means are provided to break off individual strand lengths from a continuous supply strand of fibrous material.

In my copending application Ser. No. 740,391, filed April 9, 1947, there is disclosed and claimed a machine of this general type in which a, strand of fibrous material such as cotton wadding is fed to a transfer wheel Where individual lengths of the material are broken off, purely by tension, and subsequently inserted successively into the necks of successively presented, continuously moved bottles.

A machine constructed in accordance with this invention is an improvement over that disclosed and claimed in the above mentioned application, particularly with respect to the devices by which the individual lengths of fibrous material are broken off from the supply strand.

It is, therefore, an object of this invention to provide a machine for the insertion of fibrous materials into the necks of partially filled bottles in which individual lengths of the material are separated from a continuous strand without the necessity of employing a knife or other form of edged severing apparatus or without the necessity of employing clamping means as such to hold a supply strand of fibrous material while an individual length portion is being broken therefrom purely by tension.

Another object of this invention is to provide a machine of the character stated in which the separating of an individual length of fibrous material from a continuous supply strand is effected by parting the individual portion from its supply strand through quickly applied tension.

Another object of this invention is to provide a machine of the character stated in which a supply of stranded fibrous material is'automatically fed to a transfer wheel containing a plurality of pockets, each of which is adapted to receive an individual strand length for transfer into the neck portion of a bottle and in which a single cam or otherwise operated pressure wheel is provided to eifect the holding of each individual strand length on the transfer wheel at such times as the cam-controlled wheel is brought down into engagement with the stranded material simul- 2 taneously with interruption of the feed movement of the strandedmaterial by the feed means.

A further object of this invention is to provide a machine of the character stated in which the strand of fibrous material is fed directly into a receiving groove formed in the transfer wheel through a guide tube having its lower end positioned closely adjacent the receiving groove whereby the lower end of the guide tube may function as a snubbing post to effect the separation of an individual length of stranded material from its supply strand at such times as the feeding of the supply strand is interrupted and the cam-controlled clamping wheel is brought down into engagement with the fibrous strand retained in the groove of the transfer wheel to assure re tention of the fibrous strand within the groove.

Another object of this invention is to provide a machine of the character stated in which means are provided to prevent the unrestricted withdrawal b the movement of the transfer wheel of the supply strand from between the feed rolls during such times when simultaneously the feed movement of such rolls has been interrupted and the clampingwheel has been brought into active engagement with that portion of the fibrous strand carried within the groove of the transfer wheel. I

A further object of this invention is to provide a machine of the character stated which is simple in design, rugged in construction and economical to manufacture. With these and other objects in view, the nature of which will become more apparent, thein' vention will be more fully understood by reference to the drawings, the accompanying detailed description and the appended claims. In the drawings,

Fig. lis a somewhat schematic, perspective view of a material inserting machine constructed in accordance with thisinvention; i Fig. 2 is a top plan view, partly in section, taken along the line 2--2 of Fig. 1 Y

. Fig. 3 is a partly sectional, fragmentarygtop plan view takenat the level of the main tabletop and showing the driving connections between the several vertical shafts of the machine as well as the driving connections for the strand feeding device;

Fig. 4 isan enlarged end elevation taken along 3 portion of the machine taken along line 68 of Fig. 5;

Fig. 7 is an enlarged vertical detail section showing the relative positions of the feed wheels with respect to the guide tube through which the supply strand of fibrous material is fed;

Fig. 8 is an enlarged elevational ,view, partly in section, showing the details of the cam-controlled clamping wheel which is associated with the transfer wheel;

Fig. 9 is an enlarged detail vertical section taken along line 9-9 of Fig. 8;

Fig. 10 is an enlarged detail vertical section taken along line I-IIl of Fig. 8;

Fig. 11 is an enlarged detail side elevational view of one of the feed wheels;

Fig, 12 is an enlarged vertical 'section taken along line I2I 2 of Fig. 4 and shows mechanisms which are provided to prevent unrestricted withdrawal of the supply strand by tension resulting from continued movement of the transfer wheel;

Fig. 13 is a detail elevational view of the mechanism illustrated in the upper portion of Fig. 12;

Fig. 14 is a top plan view of the mechanism illustrated in Fig. 13 and shows the parts as they are disposed. in the driving position;

Fig. 15 is a fragmentary top plan view of certain of the machine elements illustrated in Fig. 14 in which parts are also shown in the driving position;

Fig. 16 is a view similar to Fig. 15 which shows the parts as they are positioned to prevent forward withdrawing movement of the supply strand of fibrous material; and

Fig. 17 shows the engagement of the pawl with the ratchet when the parts are in the position indicated in Fig. 16.

Referring to the drawings in detail, this invention as illustrated is embodied in a machine for inserting individual lengths of fibrous material strand into the necks of partially filled bottles and includes a base A, a fibrous material strandseparating and transfer mechanism generally indicated at B, a turret assembly generally indicated at C for performing the material-in serting operations, an intake and discharge conveyor generally indicated at D, and a conveyor generally indicated at E which holds a continuous supply of stranded fibrous material F such as cotton wadding.

The baseAcarries all of the driving mechanisms ofthe machine and includes a drive shaft (see Fig. 3) which receives its power from a motor (not shown) and drives a turret shaft 6 through the medium of worm and gear connections, I and 8. The turret shaft 6 is operably connected to a transfer wheel shaft 9 through gears It and II. A similar set of gears I2 and I3 operably connects the turret shaft 6 with a shaft I4 upon which a discharge star wheel is adapted to be mounted. It will be noted that the shafts 6 and 9 rotate at the same speed and that the gear ratios between the shafts 9 and I4 are such that the shaft I4 rotates two revolutions for each revolution of the shaft 6.

In the fibrous strand-separating and transfer mechanism B there is provided a pair of upper and lower star wheels I5, I5 (see Fig. 5) rigidly affixed to the shaft 9. Each star wheel I5 is provided with four bottle-receiving pockets so that individual bottles may be moved through an arcuate path from the intake portion of the conveyor D to an operative association with the mechanism contained in the turret C. A transfer wheel I6 is rigidly afixed to the shaft 9 and overlies the star wheels I5. The upper peripheral face portion of the transfer wheel I6 is provided with a generally U-shaped groove I! having a generally vertical inner wall I8 and an outwardly slanting outer wall I9 and is adapted to receive and retain individual lengths of the cotton wadding. The transfer wheel I6 is also provided with four peripherally located radially extending notches 20 corresponding to the pockets in the underlying star wheels I5.

The inner portion of the upper face of the transfer wheel I6 is provided with an annular groove ZI (see Fig. 10) within which is carried an adjustably secured ring cam 22 having an upstanding, suitably contoured cam face 23. This cam serves to control the presser wheel of the strand-separating devices, as will be hereinafter more fully described.

The continuous strand F of cotton wadding is adapted to be withdrawn from the container E through the medium of feeding devices carried by the base A and operatively connected to the drive elements carried by the base. These devices include a bracket generally indicated at 24 which is rigidly secured to the base A and includes an upwardly extending post 25 to which the feed roll mounting bracket is adjustably secured and a depending portion 26 terminating in a laterally extending bearing boss 21. A shaft 28 is journalled in the bearing boss 2'! and is provided on one end with a bevel gear 29 which meshes with a bevel gear 30 rigidly aiiixed to the lower end of the vertical transfer wheel shaft 9. Thus the shaft 28 is obviously driven from the shaft 9 through the above described gear connections. The other end of the shaft 28 is provided with a crank arm 3| having a groove 32 formed therein in which is adjustably mounted a crank pin 33.

A horizontally projecting shaft 34 is journalled in the central portion of the mounting bracket 24 and extends outwardly therefrom. The shaft 34 supports the requisite gearing for imparting a step by step forward movement to the strand F of the cotton wadding. These feeding connections include a set of differential gears operably connected with the crank pin 33 of the crank arm 3| and include a bevel gear 35 rigidly affixed to the shaft 34 and having an elongated hub 36 of reduced diameter. A second bevel gear 31 is journalled on the elongated hub 36 of the gear 35 and is provided at its outer end with a ratchet wheel 38 rigidly afiixed thereto. A similar ratchet wheel 39 is secured to the outer end of the shaft 34 and is disposed in spaced relation with respect to the ratchet wheel 38. It may be noted that the teeth of the ratchet wheels 38 and 39 extend in opposite directions. A rock arm 40 is journalled at its inner end on that portion of the shaft 34 which lies between the ratchet wheels 38 and 39 and is pivotally connected at its outer end to the upper end of a link M, the lower end of which is pivotally connected to the crank pin 33 of the crank arm 3|. An upwardly extending spring-biased pawl 42 is pivotally connected to the rock arm 40 onone side thereof and is engageable with the ratchet wheel 39. A similar but downwardly extending spring-biased pawl 43 is pivotally connected to the other side of the rock arm 49 and engages the ratchet wheel 38.

The mounting bracket 24 rotatably carries a vertically extending shaft 44 journalled in a boss 45. The lower end of the shaft 44 is provided with a bevel gear 46 which meshes with the bevel gears 35'and 31' so that upon rotation of'the shaft 28 .and its associated crank arm and pin the rock arm 48 will be oscillated up and down and the ratchet wheels 38 and 39 will be given intermittent step-by-step movements of rotation alternately inopposite directions and the associated bevel gears will partake of similar step-by-step rotary movement to impart a step-by-step but more nearly continuous movement of rotation to the shaft 44 in a single direction.

A horizontally extending feed roll mounting bracket 41 is adjustably secured to the upstanding post portion 25 of the bracket 24 as through the medium of a bolt and nut assembly 48. The bracket 41 is provided with an upstanding bearing boss 49 to which the shaft 44 extends. A bevel gear 58 is rigidly but adjustably afiixed to .the shaft 44 in a position within the limits of the bracket 4'! and meshes with asomewhat smaller bevel gear 5| rigidly afiixed to one end of a horizontally extending feed roll drive shaft 52 journalled in another portion of the bracket 41. The other projecting end of the feed roll drive shaft 52 carries a feed roll 53 rigidly affixed thereto. A second feed roll 54 is rigidly afl'lxed to a horizontally disposed shaft 55 carried by the upper end of an arm 56, the lower end of which is pivotallyconnected as at 5! to a lug 58, formed integral with the bracket 41 (see Fig. 4 of the drawings). The arm 56 is constantly biased so that its associated feed roll 54 always tends to contact the feed roll 53 through the medium of a knurled adjusting rod 59 threadably engaged on a stud 68 afiixed to the bracket 4'! and projecting laterally from the bracket. A compression,

spring BI is carried by the stud 88 and is interposed between the knurled knob 59 and the associated face of the arm 56. It will be apparent that when the knob 59 is suitably tightened upon the stud 60 the spring 6| will exert a force against the arm 58 and urge its feed roll 54 towards contact or feeding relation with respect to the feed roll 53. Thus the step-by-step movement of rotation derived by the shaft 44 through the bevel gear, ratchet and crank arm connection, as hereinbe'fore described, is transmitted to the feed roll 53 through the gear connections 50 and 5i to impart a step-by-step feed-producing movement to the feed rolls 53 and 54. Driving connections are provided between the feed roll shafts 5 2 and 55 through the medium of a gear 62 rigidly affixed to the shaft 52 which meshes with a similar gear 63 rigidly afiixed to the shaft 55. Thus both feed rolls 53 and 54 are power driven, but it should be noted that the depth of the teeth of the respective gears 62 and 83 is sufiicient that the spring biasing or resilient mounting of the feed roll 54 under conditions of normal operation should always permit the gears 62 and 63 to remain in mesh.

It will be noted that the vertical plane Within which the feed rolls 53 and 54 lie overlies the peripheral groove I! of the transfer wheel I6 so that an end of the strand of cotton wadding may be directly fed from the feed wheels to the groove of the transfer wheel.

In order properly to support the strand F of cotton wadding as it is fed between the feed rolls 53 and 54 a generally arcuate guide 64 is mounted 'on the upper part of the bracket 4'1 and has its outer end overlying a discharge spout 55 of the supply container E and its inner or lower end removably affixed within a mounting bracket 65 carried in turn by the bracket 41. Thus the loworend of the guide 84 is disposed directly over and in alignment'with-the nip between the feed r0115 53 and 54. It may be preferable to provide the discharge end of the guide 64 with a depending extension 6! having a full kerf cut 68 on one side in alignment with the feed roll 54 and a rectangular slot 69 (see Figs. '7, 8 and 9) through which an edge portion of the feed roll 53 is adapted to be projected. By particular reference to Fig. 7 of the drawings it will be seen that the feed rolls 53 and 54 are positioned in relatively close proximity with the lower end of the supply strand F of cotton wadding being interposed therebetween.

In this figure of the drawings the relative posi;

tions of the feed rolls with respect to the guide 64 and its associated depending extension 61 will be clearly understood. An arrangement of this na ture makes it very convenient to either adjust the relative positions of the feed rolls 53 and 54 each with respect to the other or to remove and replace the same with feed rolls of different diameters or thicknesses, in accordance with the physical characteristics of the fibrous material to be fed.

A yoke generally indicated at Hi and having a rearwardly projecting arm H and a forwardly and downwardly projecting arm 12 is pivotally attached to the mounting bracket 66 as by pivot pins l3, 13. The lower end of the arm 12 is provided with a laterally extending bearing boss 14 within which is journalled a shaft 15. One end of the shaft '15 carries a presser wheel 76 having a rounded rim section in cross section which conforms generally to the configuration of the groove I! of the transferwheel it. The

other end of the shaft 15 carries a cam follower l1 engageable with the upstanding cam face 23 of the ring cam 22. The presser wheel 76 is constantly and resiliently biased toward engage ment within the groove ll of the transfer wheel as through the medium of a tension spring 18 which extends between the outer end of the yoke arm H and a post 19 carried by the mounting bracket 41.

Bottles or containers into which individual lengths of cotton wadding are to be inserted are fed into and discharged from the machine constructed in accordance with this invention through the conveyor D which is a straight line conveyor extending across the front of the machine and essentially comprises a conveyor belt or chain 80 carried upon suitable pulleys or sprocket wheels (not shown) and driven through the medium of suitable power connections such as a power take-off (not shown) from the vertical shaft l4 journalled in the top of the base .A. Pairs of spaced guide rails 8!, 8| are adjustably supported in a position overlying the conveyor belt 88 as through the medium of a plurality of supporting lugs 82 which are in turn carried by a vertically disposed horizontally extending main conveyor mounting bracket 83 (see Fig. l of the drawings).

Container feed control means generally indicated at 84 are associated with the intake portion of the conveyor D in a position immediately ahead of the transfer assembly B. The feed control mechanism comprises a mounting bracket 85 secured to a stationary part of the conveyor D in which is journalled a vertically disposed shaft 86 carrying on its lower end a sprocket gear 81 which is operatively connected to a similar sprocket wheel 88 secured to the depending portion of the vertical shaft 9 (see Fig. 5) as by asprocket chain 89. An arm 98 is pivotally carried by the shaft 86 and rotatably supports a iriultiple pocket star ortiming'wheel 9| 'on'a shaft 92 which is driven from the shaft 86 through suitable sprocket chain and gear connections (not shown). It will be appreciated that the linear speed of advance of the conveyor belt 80 and the rotative speed of the star wheel 9| are so regulated with respect to the speed of rotation of the transfer wheel l6 that each container which is released from a pocket of the star wheel 9| will be received into a pocket of the spaced star wheels l5, l of the transfer mechanism in properly timed relation. After each bottle has passed from the intake section of the conveyor D through the mechanism 13 and the turret assembly C it is discharged from the star wheel pocket of the turret mechanism into engagement with a final two-pocket discharge wheel 93 secured to the upstanding portion of the shaft [4 projecting above the top of the base A. It will be understood from the previous description that the two-pocket star wheel 93 rotates twice for each revolution of the turret assembly C in order properly to remove bottles from each of the four pockets of the turret assembly star wheels.

In order that the bottles may be individually directed through their proper arcuate paths of travel from one machine portion to the other after they leave the entrance section of the conveyor D until they return to the discharge section of the conveyor suitable guides are provided. To that end a plate 94 is secured in spaced relation above the base A and overlies the midportion of the conveyor and the adjacent part of the top of the base. One end portion of the plate 94 is curved to conform with the radius of curvature of the transfer mechanism spaced star wheels 15. The central inwardly projecting portion of the plate 94 underlies the star wheels of the turret assembly C and is arcuately configured as at 95 in order to clear the central portion of the turret assembly, and the opposite end portion of plate 94 is arcuately configured as at 96 to conform with the general radius of curvature of the two-pocket discharge wheel 93. Thus the curved end portions of the plate 94 together with the associated movable elements of the machine define arcuate paths of travel or guideways within which the individual containers are directed. The star wheels of the turret assembly C are provided with arcuate guide means spaced therearound to comprise an arcuate' guide rail 9? adjustably supported on brackets 98 through the medium of adjusting knobs 99 threadably engaged on the outer ends of studs I00 and yieldably biased against upstanding portions of the brackets 98 as by compression springs IOI.

While the operation of the machine constructed in accordance with this invention should be readily apparent from the foregoing description it is believed that a clearer understanding of the invention may be had if one complete cycle of operation of the fiber strandfeeding and separating means is described. A line of partially filled bottles into which the individual pieces of cotton wadding are to be inserted is supplied to the intake end of the conveyor D. The leading bottle of the solid line is engaged within a pocket of the feed control star wheel 9! which effects a spacing of the leading bottle from the remainder and permits it to be fed in properly timed relation along the conveyor D until it abuts the leading arcuate edge portion of the guide-plate 94' overlying the base A at which time the container or bottle simultaneously becomes engaged by pockets of the spaced star wheels l5, l5 of the transfer mechanism B. As viewed in Figs. 2 and 6 of the drawings, the transfer wheel 16 is rotated in a counterclockwise direction.

As the bottle is being fed to the transfer mech anism the shaft 28 and the crank arm 3| have been rotating to effect oscillatory movement of the rock arm 40 to feed a length of cotton wadding F between the feed rolls 53 and into the groove l! of the transfer wheel US, so that sub stantially equal portions of the cotton wadding are disposed to either side of one of the radial notches 2B of the transfer w'heel. At this stage the roller cam follower 11 becomes engaged in a depressed portion of the cam face 23 to permit the spring 18 to bias downwardly the presser wheel I6 into pressure engagement with the fibrous material in the groove. It may be desirable to slightly roughen the bottom portion of the groove H by shallow counterbores I02 or by corrugating or knurling the bottom of the groove in the areas indicated in Figs. 6 and 8 of the drawings. As the transfer wheel It continues to rotate the rock arm 40 reaches a period of dwell which causes stopping of feeding of the strand of cotton wadding between the feed rolls 53 and 54 and causes that portion of the wadding located immediately adjacent the lower end of the guide extension 6'! to be abruptly pulled across the lower end of the guide extension to thereby separate or part, purely by tension, an individual length of wadding from the continuous strand. By referring to Fig. 6 of the drawings it will be seen that a new length of wadding is being fed onto the transfer wheel I6 adjacent the right quadrant thereof and that two individual lengths of wadding are carried thereby, one at the upper quadrant thereof and the other at the left quadrant thereof.

Continued rotation of the transfer wheel IS with its associated individual length of cotton wadding and a bottle held in the pocket of the spaced star wheels brings the container and associated wadding into the position indicated at the left-hand quadrant of the transfer wheel It as shown in Fig. 6 of the drawings. Prior to this time the roller cam follower 11 has contacted the raised portion of the cam face 23 and has consequently lifted the presser wheel 16 from pressure engagement with the wadding carried in the groove I! of the transfer wheel. It will be appreciated that the yoke 10 and its associated presser wheel 16 and cam follower H are stationarily located with respect to the movement of rotation of the transfer wheel I6. Thus whenever the cam follower 1'! becomes engaged in one of the relatively short depressed portions of the cam face 23 it will cause the presser wheel 16 to be brought into yielding pressure engagement with the wadding carried within the groove IT. The time of this pressure engagement is only sufficient to effect a parting of the individual strand length from the main supply strand and it is not necessary to prolong the time of pressure contact beyond that. As the transfer wheel 16 has been rotated to the point at which an individuallength of wadding reaches the lefthand quadrant, as shown in Fig. 6, the radial notch 20 of the transfer wheel l6 at that point has been brought into substantial vertical registry with a tucking blade I03 01 the somewhat diagrammatically illustrated tucking mechanisms 9 carried by the turret assembly C (see Fig. 1) and a pocket of the turret star wheel is about to engage the bottle and remove it from the transfer mechanism to the control of the turret.

Under normal operation of a machine constructed in accordance with this invention the total frictional drag of the operative parts in the feeding devices is generally greater than the total force required to effect breaking of an individual strand length purely bytension. However, there may be circumstances in which an abnormally heavy strand of cotton wedding is used, or in which the frictional resistance of the bearings f the various rotary machine parts has been decreased through Wear, 50 that the total frictional resistance of the feeding devices is less than the amount of tension required to part an individual strand length. In Figs. 12 through 17 of the drawings, I have disclosed devices which can be installed in connection with the feed mechanisms of this machine to assure that any tension which is applied to the free end of the cotton wadding as it is first projected into the groove I! of the transfer wheel will not cause the feed rolls 53 and 54 to partake of any free wheeling movement during such periods of dwell thereof in which the strand-separating action should take place. These devices while preventing free Wheeling of the feed rolls 53 and 54 will not interrupt in the slightest the normal power drive action of the feed rolls through the crank and rock arm connections hereinbefore described.

When anti-free feed devices of this character are applied to the machine the shaft 44 should be formed in two pieces comprising a lower section 44 which carries the bevel gear 46 and extends upwardly through the bearing boss 45 and an upper section 44a, disposed in vertical alignment therewith but operably connected thereto only by the devices which constitute the antifree feeding mechanism. The upper end of the lower shaft section 44 is provided with a collar I04 removably affixed thereto by a set screw I and is provided with a radially extending cam lug I06. A collar I0] is removably affixed to the lower end of the shaft section 44a as by a set screw I 08 and is provided with an upstanding hub portion I00 and a radially extending arm portion H0. A stud III is rigidly affixed to the arm H0 and is provided with a depending portion which extends through a hole HZ formed in the cam lug extension I06 of the collar I04. It will be noted that the diameter of the hole H2 is somewhat greater than the diameter of the stud III so that limited relative movement may take place between the collars I04 and i0? and their associated shaft sections. A ratchet wheel H3 is journalled' on the upstanding hub portion I09 of the collar I0! and is restrained from rotation by' a clamping collar I I 4 having an arm portion H5 secured to the upstanding post 25 of the feed mechanism mounting bracket 24. erally indicated at HB having a bifurcated end Ill and a ratchet-engaging end I I8 is pivotally connected to the outer end of the arm H0 as by a pivot pin to and has a vertical depth sufficient that its ratchet-contacting end I I8 is engageableboth with the ratchet wheel I I3 and the A tension spring I I9 cam lug extension I06. extends between a pin I20 carried by the collar I01 and the ratchet engaging end of the'pawl H8 so that the pawl is constantly biased toward engagement with its associated'rat'chet and log cam.

A pawl gen- The antifree feeding device of this machine operates in the followin manner: By reference to Figs. 14, 15 and 16 of the drawings it will be observed that the normal driven direction of rotation of the shaft 44 and the upper shaft section 44a is counterclockwise. During the normal feed movements of these shaft sections through the crank and rock arm connections SI, and M and the ratchet wheels 38 and 39 the lower shaft section 44 is given a nearly continuous step-by-step movement and the cam lug I06 of the collar I04 is brought into engagement with the depending stud III of the collar arm H0. In this manner th driven motion of the lower shaft section 44 is imparted to the upper shaft section 44a. It will be observed that in the normal driving or feed-imparting motion the camlug I06 is moved counterclockwise a slight amount with respect to the ratchet-engaging end II8 of the pawl H6 (see Fig. 15) so that the cam keeps the pawl lifted from engagement withthe ratchet wheel H3. During the normal periods of dwell between step by step feed move-- ments of this mechanism this relation between the cam lug I06 and the pawl l I 6 holds constant. However, when the transfer wheel I6 has received the free end of the strand F of cotton wadding and the cam follower 1! has contacted a depressed portion of the cam face 23 on the transfer wheel to permit the presser wheel 16' to yieldably engage the fibrous materiaI in the groove I1 and thus effect a tensional pull on the.-

fiber strand as it is being projected from the depending guide extension 61', the relationship be-;

tween the cam lug I06 and the pawl II B may assume the position indicated in Figs. 16 and 17 of the drawings; sumed by these parts only in the event that the tensile pull on the strand is greater than the.

resistanc created by the normal frictional drag of the operative parts of the strand-feeding de- After such a period of dwell of the feedvices. devices has passed and another cycle of feed movement has begun the further rotation of the lower shaft section '44 will move the cam lug I06 in a counterclockwise direction to thereby lift the; pawl end H8 from engagement with the ratchet wheel H3 and the side wall portion of the hole H2 of the cam lug will engage the upper face of the stud III as indicated in Fig. 15 of the drawings.

ratchet connections H3 and H6 are no longer effective torestrain the shaft sections 44 44a from feed roll driving movements.

Thus it will be seen that the invention herein disclosed provides a novel machin for the automatic insertion of individual lengths of cotton wadding into thenecks of successively presented bottles while the bottles are moved continuously.

the unrestricted withdrawal by the movement of 3 the transfer wheel of the supply strand from be tween the feed rolls during such times when simultaneously the feed movement-of such rolls has been interrupted and the clamping wheel has been brought into active engagement with that portion of the fibrous strand carried within the groove of the transfer wheel, and which is simple in design and rugged inconstruction.

This position can be as- Thus full driving connections again become established between the upper and lower shaft sections 44 and 44a, and the ,pawl and.

It is, of course, to be understood that various details of arrangement and proportions of parts, including th use of an intermittently operable machine rather than a continuously operable machine, may be modified within the scope of the appended claims.

. I claim as new:

1. In a machine for inserting individual lengths of fibrous packing material into neck portions of containers, means for feeding a continuous strand of material to material-transfer means, material-transfer means for receiving and transferring fibrous material from said feeding means, stationarily positioned means including a presser device for temporarily applying pressure to the strand of said material on said transfer means during at least a portion of the time said material is supported thereon, means to interrupt the feeding action of said feeding means concurrently with the actuation of said presser device, and means to move said transfer means during at least the interrupted feeding period of said feeding means to thereby separate by tension an individual length of packing material from the continuous strand thereof.

2. In a machine for inserting individual lengths of fibrous packing material into neck portions of containers, means for feeding a continuous strand of material to material-transfer means, means including a rotary wheel having a strand-receiv-' ing groove for transferring fibrous material from said feeding means to operative association with other machine elements, means stationarily positioned with respect to the rotary movement of said transfer wheel for temporarily and progressively applying pressure to the strand of said ma-' terial carried in the groove of said transfer wheel during at least a portion of the time said material is carried therein, means to interrupt the feeding action of said feeding means concurrently with the actuation of said presser means, and means to rotate said transfer means during at least the interrupted feeding period of said feeding means to thereby separate by tension an individual length of packing material from the continuous strand thereof.

3. In a machine for inserting individual lengths of fibrous packing material into neck portions of containers, means for feeding at a substantially uniform rate a continuous strand of material, material transfer means for receiving and transferring said material from said feeding means to operative association with other machine elements, means to move said transfer means in a direction such that the said strand of material supported thereon is moved away from said feeding means, stationarilypositioned means including a presser device for progressively applying temporary pressure to the said strand of material as it is supported by said transfer means, and means to materially retard the rate of feeding of said strand of material by said feeding means during at least the time during which said presser device is actuated to apply progressive pressure to said strand whereby an individual length of said material will be separated by tension from the continuous strand means including a presser device for progressively applying temporary pressure to said strand of material on said transfer means during at least a portion of the time said material is supported thereon, means to interrupt the feeding action of said feed rolls concurrently with the actuation of said presser device, and means to rotate said transfer means during at least the interrupted feeding period of said feed rolls to thereby separate by tension an individual length of packing material from the continuous strand thereof.

5. In a machine for inserting individual lengths of fibrous packing material into neck portions of containers, means including a pair of intermittently operable feed rolls for feeding a continuous strand of fibrous material, a rotary transfer wheel having a strand-receiving groove formed in its upper face, stationarily positioned means including a presser device for progressively applying temporary pressure to said strand of material within the groove of said transfer wheel during at least a portion of the time said material is supported therein, means to interrupt the feeding action of said feed rolls concurrently with the actuation of said presser device, and means to rotate said transfer wheel during at least the interrupted feeding period of said feed rolls to thereby separate by tension an individual length of packing material from the continuous strand thereof.

6. In a machine for inserting individual lengths of fibrous packing material into neck portions of containers, means including a pair of intermittently operable feed rolls for feeding a continuous strand of fibrous material, a transfer wheel rotatable about a vertical axis and having a strandreceiving groove formed in its upper face, means including a presser wheel adapted to engage said strand of fibrous material within the groove of said transfer wheel to progressively apply temporary pressure thereto, means to bring said presser wheel into and out of pressure engagement with said material in said groove, means to interrupt the feeding action of said feed rolls concurrently with the pressure-applying actuation of said presser wheel, and means to rotate said transfer wheel to thereby separate by tension an individual length of packing material from the continuous strand thereof.

'7. In a machine for inserting individual lengths of fibrous packing material into neck portions of containers, means including a pair of intermittently operable feed rolls for feeding a continuous strand of fibrous material, a transfer wheel rotattion of said presser Wheel, and means to rotate said transfer wheel to thereby separate by tension an individual length of packing material from the continuous strand thereof.

8. In a machine for inserting individual lengths of fibrous material into neck portions of containers, a main frame, means supported on said main frame for intermittently feeding a continuous strand of fibrous material in a down-.

ward direction, a continuously rotating transfer wheel located adjacent said feeding means and being provided on its upper face with a strand receiving'groove, means including a presser wheel adapted to engage said strand of fibrous material within the groove of said transfer wheel to progressively apply temporary pressure thereto, means to bring said presser wheel into and out of pressure engagement with said material in said groove at periodic'intervals concurrent with certain periods of dwell in the intermittent feeding of said continuous strand, and means to rotate said transfer wheel whereby to separate by tension an individual length of material from the continuous strand thereof each time that the said presser wheel is in pressure-engagement with the strand portion in said groove and concurrently a period of dwell is present in said intermittent feedin means.

9. In a machine for inserting individual lengths of fibrous material into neck portions of containers, a main frame, means supported on said main frame for intermittently feeding a continuous strand of fibrous material in a downward direction, a continuously rotating transfer wheellocated adjacent said feedin means and being provided on its upper face with a strandreceiving groove, means for guiding said strand from said feedin means into the groove of said transfer wheel, means including a presser wheel adapted to engage said strand of fibrous material within the groove of said transfer wheel to progressively apply temporary pressure thereto, means to bring said presser wheel into and out of pressure engagement with said material in said groove at periodic intervals concurrent with certain periods of dwell in the intermittent feeding of said continuous strand, and means to rotate said transfer wheel whereby to separate by tension an individual length of material from the continuous strand thereof each time that the said presser wheel is in pressure-engagement with the strand portion in said groove and concurrently a period of dwell is present in said intermittent feeding means.

10. In a machine for inserting individual lengths of fibrous material into neck portions of containers, a main frame, means supported on said main frame for intermittently feeding a continuous strand of fibrous material in a downward direction, a continuously rotating transfer wheel located adjacent said feeding means and being provided on its upper face with a strandreceiving groove, a vertically disposed tube having its upper end associated with said feeding means and its lower end positioned adjacent the groove of said transfer wheel for guiding said strand from said feeding means into said groove, means including a presser wheel adapted to engage said strand of fibrous material within the groove of said transfer wheel to progressively apply temporary pressure thereto, means to bring said presser wheel into and out of pressure engagement with said material in said groove at periodic intervals concurrent with certain periods of dwell in the intermittent feeding of said continuous strand, and means to rotate said transfer wheel whereby to separate by tension an individual length of material from the continuous strand thereof each time that the said presser wheel is in pressure-engagement with the strand portion in said groove and concurrently a period of dwell is present in said intermittent feeding means.

11. In a machine for inserting individual lengths of fibrous material into the neck portions of containers, means including a pair "of intermittently operable feed rolls for feeding a continuous strand of fibrous material in a nearcontinuous step-by-step manner, a continuously operable rotary transfer wheel for receiving and transferrin said strand of material, stationarily positioned means including a presser wheel associated with said transfer wheel for progressively applying temporary pressure to said strand on said transfer wheel, means for bringing said presser wheel into pressure engagement with said material'on said transfer wheel during certain periods of dwell of said feed wheels to thereby effect successive separations of in'-- dividual material lengths from said continuous strand purely by tension, and means operably connected with said feeding means to prevent free-feeding movement of said feed rolls during such times as periods of dwell thereof occur concurrently with pressure-engaging relation of said presser wheel with said strand of material on said trans-fer wheel.

12. In a machine for inserting individual lengths of fibrous material into the neck portions of containers, means including a pair "of intermittently'op'erable feed rolls for feeding a continuous strand of fibrousmaterial in a nearcontinuous step-by-step manner, a continuously operable rotary transfer wheel for receiving and transferring saidstrand of material, stationarily positioned means including a presser wheel associated with said transfer wheel for progressively applying temporary pressure to said strand on said transfer wheel, means including cam and cam follower connections associated with said transfer wheel for bringing said presser wheel into pressure engagement with said material on said transfer wheel during certain periods of dwell of said feed wheels to thereby effect successive separations of individual material lengths from said continuous strand purely by tension, and means operably connected with said feeding means to prevent free-feeding movement of said feed rolls during such times as periods of dwell thereof occur concurrently with pressureengaging relation of said presser wheel with said strand of material on said transfer wheel.

13. In a machine for inserting individual lengths of fibrous material into the neck portions of containers, means including a pair of intermittently operable feed rolls for feedin a continuous strand of fibrous material in a nearcontinuous step-by-step manner, a continuously operable rotary transfer wheel for receiving and transferring said strand of material, stationarily positioned means including a presser wheel associated with said transfer wheel for progressively applying temporary pressure to said strand on said transfer wheel, means for bringing said presser wheel into pressure engagement with said material on said transfer wheel during certain periods of dwell of said feed wheels to thereby eifect successive separations of individual material lengths from said continuous strand purely by tension, and cam-controlled ratchet and pawl means operably connected with said feeding means effective to prevent free-feeding movement of said feed rolls at such times as the strand portion projecting therefrom is under tension from movement of said transfer Wheel during certain periods of dwell of said feed rolls and to permit normal step-by-step feed movement of said feed rolls at all other times.

14. In a machine for inserting individual lengths of fibrous material into the neck portions of containers, means including a pair of intermittently operable feed rolls for feeding a continuous strand of fibrous material in a nearcontinuous step-by-step manner, a continuously operable rotary transfer wheel for receivingand transferring said strand of material, stationarily positioned means including a presser wheel associated with said transfer wheel for progressively applying temporary pressure to said strand on said transfer wheel, means including cam and cam follower connections associated with said transfer wheel for bringing said presser wheel into pressure engagement with said material on said transfer wheel during certain periods of dwell of said feed wheels to thereby effect successive separations of individual material lengths from said continuous strand purely by tension, and cam-controlled ratchet and pawl means operably connected withsaid feeding means effective to prevent free-feeding movement of said feed rolls at such times as the strand portion projecting therefrom is under tension from movement of said transfer wheel during certain periods of dwell of said feed rolls and to permit normal step-by-step feed movement of said feed rolls at all other times.

15. In a machine for inserting individual lengths of fibrous material into the neck portions of containers, a main frame, means supported on said main frame for feeding a continuous strand of fibrous, material, a continually rotating transfer wheel located adjacent said feeding means and adapted to support the free end .of said strand after it leaves said feeding means, a vertically disposed tube carried by said main frame and interposed between said feeding means and said transfer wheel for directing said material strand onto said transfer wheel, an arm pivotally connected to said main frame adjacent said guide tube and having an end portion overlying said transfer wheel, a presser wheel rotatably mounted on said arm, means effective to periodically bring said presser wheel into pressure engagement with said material on said transfer wheel, the feeding movement of said feeding means being interrupted at periodic intervals including intervals concurrent with the pressure-engagement movements of said presser wheel whereby successive individual lengths of fi-' brous material will be broken from said continuous strand purely by tension, and means operably connected with said feeding means to prevent free-feeding movement of said continuous strand during such times as interrupted feeding periods thereof occur concurrently with pressure-engaging relation of said presser wheel with said strand of material on said transfer wheel.

' HOWARD E. GANTZER.

No references cited. 

